Punderings

Yes, I’m actually on time, since it primarily happens on the 22nd this year! It was actually a pretty good day, if rather short…

We all will be looking forward to more daylight, although it takes a while to really start making a difference. Unfortunately it looks to be warm tomorrow, so the top layers of snow will likely be melting, with deleterious effects on sledding enjoyment on our the nearby hill. Drat, that reminds me, I need to shovel the edges of the driveway so I can actually see!

I can’t actually decide which sun milestone I like the best. I love christmas trees, so the long night just means that much longer that we can have the lights on. But I also love sunlight, so there’s something really appealing about having a long enough day that you can actually do almost everything you want to do, and then enjoy the sunset as you have your second dessert just before going to bed. Ah, well, I’ll just have to enjoy both of them!

Quite a snowy winter here so far. Send me pennies of affiliate love and listen to my favorite Christmas music: A Charlie Brown Christmas – be sure to get the Original one!

After a bit of a delay, my ISP’s otherwise simple and free SSL setup is now installed. Yay! I can now blog and share the (eventual) World Domination Thru Pithy Quotes commerce portions of my website securely. I think my 1and1 webhost (which I love, both for the reasonably geeky and the completely non-geeky) got upgraded, and the first dedicated SSL cert from GeoTrust is free, as is a shared SSL cert that they provide.

Hm. I still get the non-locked padlock in my Firefox. Wonder what I’m missing? I thought getting the cert setup for the domain (albeit a subdomain, as all x.y.name domains seem to be) was like a magical wand that ensured peace of mind when browsing or posting. Er, guess I should do the obvious and update my css links and whatnot and then wonder what I missed! Oh, and then figure out the appropriate mojo to do to WP to get it secure too.

Cough syrup, lovely cough syrup. Actually, I find Ricola helps me sleep – at least somewhat. Does anyone know what pneumonia feels like? Cause I’m still sick…

I’m not quite sure what else to put here, other than what we’ve already put in the local papers where Fred was well known. Needless to say we’ve been rather busy, and I probably won’t have a normal schedule for at least another week after other family events. So sorry if I haven’t gotten back to someone recently!

Fred not only taught me about the outdoors – hiking, fishing, hunting – but also taught me to play cards, and almost more importantly (to me, anyway) taught me to appreciate good rock and roll. I also know that he was both a good husband and father, and even more so was a good stepfather.

Frederick A. Otto, 61, of Littleton MA and Randolph NH, died at his home in Littleton on Dec 3. He was born in Northampton MA on July 23, 1946, son of the late Ernest and Dorothy (Dahill) Otto. Fred grew up in Northampton and was a graduate of Northampton High School. Fred received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and an MBA from Michigan State University.

Fred worked at GenRad for over 20 years and later QuadTech. Most recently Fred worked at Instron as a Vice President where he was held in the highest regard by colleagues who also became dear friends during his 12 year tenure. Fred was dedicated to his profession and will be greatly missed by his work family.

Aside from work Fred enjoyed the outdoors, camping, hunting, hiking and most of all fishing. From their Randolph home Fred and Phyllis fished many rivers together and achieved their goal of hiking all 48 of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s NH Four Thousand Footers. From their Littleton home Fred was a member of the South Fitchburg Hunting and Fishing Club and previously a member of the Harvard Sportsman’s Club.

Fred is survived by his wife Phyllis Curcuru, son Robert Otto, and a stepson Shane Curcuru, his wife Amy, and daughter Roxanne. He is also survived by a sister Susan Wight.

Visiting Hours will be held at the Badger Funeral Home, 347 King St. Littleton on Thursday from 11-1 pm and 4-6 pm with a Funeral Service at 6 pm. Burial will be at the New Cemetery, Randolph NH on Saturday at 1 pm.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Randolph Mountain Club as follows:
Randolph Mountain Club
PO Box 279
Gorham NH 03581
Please write “In memory of Fred Otto” on the check memo line

Thanks to the friends, family, and co-workers who’ve helped out along the way.